Lady Shocks vs. Western Illinois

[The Mad Hatter]

Ladies win 70-45

http://www.goshockers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7500&ATCLID=204837817

Good all around effort by the Shocks. We should be tough at home this year, and you should be in the crowd supporting this team. They are fun to watch!

BTW, does anyone know why Sheena wasn't playing?

[flyingMoose]

Re: Lady Shocks vs. Western Illinois

BTW, does anyone know why Sheena wasn't playing?

Although Coach mentioned in the post-game show that our best defender was not playing, she gave no reason why.

There was basically a seven-person rotation with Michelle and Jazmien each getting seven minutes or less apiece. Michelle showed some of the spark that caused her to be the "name" recruit of the freshman class.

Our athleticism wore WIU out. Almost half of our points came off turnovers.

[1972Shocker]

Nothing like a 50 point turn around to feel a little better about this team.

More like what I was expecting from this team. Some very good moments, active on the defensive end, very good in transition, but also moments of freshman-itis and juco-itis.

A nice effort by the Shocks tonight but still a lot to work on including:
- free-throw shooting
- in-bounding the basketball under our own basket
- inside game (we really don't have much there yet)

Very impressed with Haleigh. She was 8-14 from the field and most, if not all, of her misses were right on target.

Marisah had a nice floor game with 9 assists to 3 turnovers and was pesky on the defensive end.

I think Jessica is going to be one of my favorites.

I thought Michelle looked decent in her limited minutes late. She was pretty active and may have earned herself some additional minutes going forward.

Dannah looks like she will be an effective 3-point shooter, but I think she needs to be a little more selective.

I liked the weave they were running late in the second half.

Not sure why Sheena did not play.

[The Mad Hatter]

I don't think Jody minds Dannah taking those shots, and neither do I. She was 3-7, which is .428, even with missing a few late in the game. The shots were within the offense and her stroke looked good.

Last year Jody could not convince Val to consistently pull the trigger, and her reluctance to trust her ability to get the shot off hurt the team. The offense was trying to get those shots for Val last year, and they are getting them for Dannah this year. It is her role and, unless she is having a really bad shooting night, I think she should and will have a green light.

Morgan is the person I think needs to be more selective about her shot. She forced some shots in the first half (although did much better in the second half). She can create her own shot, which is great, but she has taken some shots early in the shot clock that she could have had anytime. I do love the match-up problems she presents on both ends of the floor, though. She made their screens really ineffective by being able to switch and stay with their guards.

[1972Shocker]

I agree, Morgan could be a little more selective also. I also agree that Dannah should have the green light, but she still takes some rushed shots. She has a very good looking shot so I think if she picks her spots she can be very effective.

Alicia Sanchez had the best 3-point shooting percentage of the Juco transfers so when she is added to the mix we should be able to keep defenses from packing it in too much. I think this will be important because if we are going to do much inside we will probably need to spread teams out and drive to the basket.

[The Mad Hatter]

I agree, Morgan could be a little more selective also. I also agree that Dannah should have the green light, but she still takes some rushed shots. She has a very good looking shot so I think if she picks her spots she can be very effective.

Alicia Sanchez had the best 3-point shooting percentage of the Juco transfers so when she is added to the mix we should be able to keep defenses from packing it in too much. I think this will be important because if we are going to do much inside we will probably need to spread teams out and drive to the basket.

No question, Alicia will be getting a chunk of those 3 point looks within the offense once she starts playing. She and Dannah will have similar roles within the offense, and having two good outside shooters (plus Jessie and Haleigh who are both good from outside in addition to their mid range games) will be really nice.

It will be interesting to see how quickly the freshmen in the post will be able to be a factor within the offense on the low block. Chynna looks really good working from the high post, either with the jump shot or driving to the basket, but I hope that she will figure out how to dominate the low block by Valley play, because she has the tools to do it.

[1972Shocker]

Morgan, similar to Dannah, was 4-10 from the floor which is not terrible, but also like Dannah, she could improve that with somewhat better shot selection. No doubt the Juco transfers will take some time also to transition into D-1 ball.

The only player who really struggled offensively was Ashley, going 0-6 from the field.

[teldridge24]

Just my two cents on the game tonight:

Ball Handlers
** Marisah Henderson
As far as creating opportunities, Henderson is one of the best I have seen in the Valley. She just has the knack of seeing openings before they develop. She had plenty of no-look passes for scores and found Morgan Boyd on a nicely-designed play that diverts the defense's attention towards Haleigh Lankster in the corner and then Henderson zips it in to Boyd for a lay-in. Henderson understands her role of running this team and she is filling it perfectly right now. Proof is in her stat line: 1-1 shooting, 9 assists and 4 steals. She's pesky on defense, but sometimes her size hurts her. That's about the only blemish you could find in her game tonight. Grade: A

** Jessy Diamond
I can see the flashes that Diamond is going to be a great player. She has very good handles and also has a solid mid-range game, something Henderson doesn't look for. She's still developing as far as seeing the openings before they happen and she is this year's Marisah in terms of Jody's project. She was disappointed in some of her defensive efforts tonight, but overall I thought JD took a step forward with 10 points, 7 rebounds (many in garbage time), 4 assists and 1 turnover. Grade: B

** Dannah Kemp
Kemp appears to be this year's Val. She has a very nice stroke from the outside and is going to be a zone-buster this year. She knocked down three trey's tonight and benefited from Marisah's vision. For the most part, all seven of her shots were in the offense, but she did rush two of them. She didn't turn the ball over and had two steals. Solid. Grade: B-

Wings
** Morgan Boyd
She proved she can create her own shot, which is a rarity for the Shockers. She made 4 of her 10 shots, most of them coming on mid-range jumpers. She also added four rebounds and was playing the four for most of the game. She's going to create match-up problems with her ability to get to the basket, as well as her range. She's a solid defender, as well. Grade: B-

** Haleigh Lankster
I am going to go out on a limb and say before Lankster graduates Wichita State, she will be the conference POY. She's that good. And she's only a sophomore. She was such a presence on defense tonight that Western Illinois had to call timeout after she stole two passes in a row and finished at the the end. She scored a career-high 19 points, finished with three steals and was without-a-doubt the best player on the floor all night. It's hard to say which part of her game is best right now. If she can avoid early foul trouble, she's going to have a nice season. Grade: A

** Sheena Johnson
She didn't suit up for this game and is day-to-day right now. It is unclear whether she will be available for the La Salle game on Monday. Grade: INC

Posts
** Ashley Gladden
Gladden once again got the start and against a smaller WIU lineup, got the majority of the post minutes (29 of 61). Her offensive game is still a work-in-progress, evident by her 0-for-6 performance, but she's a solid rebounder (6) and defender. Developing a post move would be nice, but right now Gladden serves a solid role as senior leader and defender. Grade: C+

** Chynna Turner
I didn't even really notice Turner putting together a solid game (10 points on 4-for-4 shooting), but that's a credit to her offensive game. Obviously, she's going to have the majority of the offensive production in the low post and WSU will count on her to be successful. She's still coming along defensively and she takes advantage of her ability to run the court well. She's a bit turnover-prone (3) now, so she needs to clean that up before conference play starts. Grade: B-

** Michelle Price
I completely forgot about Price until she got up off the bench in the second half. This wasn't really a great matchup for the bigs since WIU played mostly guards, so maybe that explains her 7 minutes - all in the second half with the game decided. But Price played hard and provided a spark. She made all three of her shots, picked up two rebounds and got a steal in her time. Need to see her in extended minutes to see where she fits into the rotation for WSU. Grade: C+

** Jazimen Gordon
Gordon has crazy athleticism for her size, but it's going to be a work-in-progress as far as developing her as a post player. She doesn't have the strength right now, but she can get by with her above-average length and athleticism. She made her only shot in 6 minutes of play, but also turned the ball over four times in that time. As a whole, WSU has to cut down on its turnovers from its posts. Grade: C

Team Performance
I was impressed with the guard play from the Shockers. When Henderson can get in her game and manage the tempo of the game, she is really good. I've really been impressed with Lankster so far this season, as well. With them, you have your distributor and your scorer - a solid foundation. Everyone else will have to fill their role. Boyd has to be a secondary scorer to compliment Lankster. Diamond has to be able to take care of the ball and knock down that 15-foot jumper off screens. Kemp - and Sanchez have to stretch zones and knock down the open 3. Johnson has to be the lock-down perimeter defender. Gladden has to be tough inside. Turner has to provide some kind of inside scoring to keep team's defenses honest. Price and Gordon have to continue to develop inside. Wichita State has interesting pieces this season. Not sure if they can contend in the Valley just yet, but I have a feeling they will have a winning record at home in the Valley and might be able steal a few on the road as well. Taking care of teams it should - like Western Illinois - is a step in the right direction.

[1972Shocker]

Ok, Taylor that was probably 3 cents worth! Good analysis though.

:good:

I probably would give Jessy a B+ and Michelle a B-. But maybe I grade more on the curve then you do.

Overall though a lot of positives and a much, much better feeling than after the performance at Colorado State.

[ShockTalk]

Someone's hard to please. Michelle plays only 7 minutes, goes 3-3 from the field, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, no TOs, (did have 2 PF) and that's a C+?!?

I know, the minutes were all in the second half, there wasn't many of them, and WIU didn't match up well with her. None of this her fault.

:wsu_posters: :D

[The Mad Hatter]

I was just noticing that our freshman bigs (Chynna, Michelle, and Jazimen) combined for 8-8 from the field.

That's obviously not a lot of shot attempts, but you've got to like the efficiency.

One place that we need to get better is free throw shooting. I'm a bit bewildered why our percentage is so bad, because everyone who goes to the line looks like they have a nice stroke, but then we seem to have several rim out on us every game.

We need to get better at the line, but our players have good enough form that I think it will improve.

[xazshox]

Forwards

The frosh forwards (4 and 5 position), that is Turner, Price & Gordon combined for a total of 22 minutes. In the 1st game at CO State, they played a combined 53 min's. The coaching staff has obviously decided they need to get more experience before they can play more. There are several more home games now that should aid that cause.

[teldridge24]

Someone's hard to please. Michelle plays only 7 minutes, goes 3-3 from the field, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, no TOs, (did have 2 PF) and that's a C+?!?

I know, the minutes were all in the second half, there wasn't many of them, and WIU didn't match up well with her. None of this her fault.

:wsu_posters: :D

Ha, well that's true. It was mostly about the limited minutes part. She played well in her minutes, so she probably deserves somewhere in the B range. She will definitely be one to watch develop this season too.